Brachiopods (/ ˈbrækioʊˌpɒd /), phylum Brachiopoda, are a phylum of animals that have hard "valves" (shells) on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, while the front can be opened for feeding or closed for protection.

2024年10月7日 · Brachiopods, also known as lamp shells, are marine invertebrates characterized by two hard valves or shells located on their dorsal and ventral sides, in contrast to the lateral shells of molluscan bivalves. This ancient group of organisms has existed for at least 600 million years and constitutes the phylum Brachiopoda.

2019年10月25日 · Brachiopods are marine invertebrates, meaning they have no backbone, and are one of the few animal groups that live only in the ocean. They live on the ocean bottom in a variety of places, including soft sediments, on rocks, reefs, or in rock crevices where some even anchor themselves with a muscular stalk called a pedicle.

2024年10月25日 · Brachiopoda were a dominant group of marine organisms during the Paleozoic. Their name comes from the Greek words brachion, meaning “arm,” and podos, meaning “foot.” This references to their internal anatomy. Brachiopods were once thought to be mollusks, which have a muscular internal foot.

Brachiopods are virtually defenceless and their shell, enclosing the animal’s organs, is the only protection against predators. Most are permanently attached by a fleshy stalk (the pedicle) to a hard, sea-floor surface and are incapable of actively pursuing food.

Brachiopod Diversity Patterns. Brachiopods have one of the longest fossil records of any multicellular animal. Brachiopods have been the most abundant bottom-dwelling creatures for three out of five global mass extinction events, all of which occurred during the Paleozoic era.

Brachiopods are marine animals that, upon first glance, look like clams. They are actually quite different from clams in their anatomy, and they are not closely related to the molluscs. They are lophophorates, and so are related to the Bryozoa and Phoronida. Although they seem rare in today's seas, they are actually fairly common.

There are some 30,000 fossil brachiopod species known, but only around 385 are alive today. They are found in very cold water, in polar regions or in the deep sea, and are rarely seen. Find out more about brachiopods at echinoderm expert Chris Mah's blog.

Bra­chiopods range in size from 1 mm to 9 cm in length, and all known species are soli­tary, ben­thic, ma­rine an­i­mals with a two part shell (valve); the valves of Inar­tic­u­lata species are at­tached only by mus­cles, while the valves of Ar­tic­u­lata species have a tooth-and-socket hinge.

Brachiopods are a phylum of small marine shellfish, sometimes called lampshells. They are not common today, but in the Palaeozoic they were one of the most common types. They lived near the shore (littoral zone), but now they have been pushed into deeper water by competition from bivalve molluscs.